Olympic Update

This will be quick, since I'm already WAY behind on my self-imposed schedule. Between last post and this, I finished my cardigan (except for buttons) and another Barn-Raising Quilt square. I also did an extensive gauge swatch prior to the torch lighting and ended up dropping two needle sizes. My plan was to complete the sleeves (1/3 of the knitting) by the end of the day on Wednesday.

If I knit like a demon for the rest of the day and evening, I might finish the second sleeve before bed.

That's two days behind :(

My problems:

I forgot that a tight cast on is imperative for linen stitch (actually the first 10 rows or so as well) to avoid ugly flare. I ripped out and redid all of the opening night knitting.

I forgot that if I lengthened sleeves from 3/4 to full length and tapered the wrists, I just might have to change the rate of increases. Luckily, I caught this error by the elbow of sleeve #1, was only off in my increase positioning by 10 rows (gauge is 25 stitches and 42 rows to 4"), so speeding up the increases was my solution. Looking at sleeve #2, I think a small amount of blocking should make the discrepancy between the sleeves indiscernable.

I had other (non-knitting) activities planned for these two weeks, and none of them seem to be going away.

On the other hand, the fabric thus far is GORGEOUS! I will post a photo at some point.

Back to work...

Knit Olympics here I come!

An hour and a half after Stephanie Pearl-McPhee posted the sign up list for this year's Knitting Olympics, I signed on. In the spirit of faster, higher, better, I chose a cardigan knit entirely in linen stitch (lots of knitting per inch), that will use roughly 2200 yards of yarn, and that has set-in sleeves (and the body is knit in the round -- the hardest kind of sleeve to make look good). Out of the 17 days (16 24 hour periods), I will spend three out of town visiting a BFF who doesn't knit, one at Stitches West, and at least one full day's worth of time on various non-profit projects.

Not to mention that linen stitch can get very boring very fast. I'm even having difficulty finishing the swatch -- not a good sign.

Lots of challenges, admittedly, but I really think this sweater will be a great addition to my wardrobe, so here goes.

Update on my resolution challenge:

finished the 3 ball scarf for Sloan (in the positive column again for projects and balls of yarn)

blocking a cardigan for myself (6 1/2 balls of yarn) -- hope to finish tomorrow

New Year's Resolutions

I haven't posted in ages, but that doesn't mean I haven't been knitting. My excuse is that I've been far busier with volunteer work than I was two years ago -- I now work one day a week at Justin's school, have moved from Treasurer to Board Chairman of Kids in Common, and spend much more time and effort with SV2. The real reason is that with more limited free time, I'd generally rather knit than write.

Every January, I make a few resolutions. Along with some general platitudes about losing a few pounds and exercising more regularly, I usually have something about getting my stash under control. I have tried "knit more", but didn't necessarily have more completed projects to show for my efforts. I tried "complete more projects", but I seemed to buy faster than I knit, so that didn't help much either. Last year I tried "complete more projects than I buy", but I bought mostly yarn in quantities for sweaters and finished mostly smaller projects. Yarn diets haven't worked for me either (just like starvation diets, there is an overwhelming tendency to binge).

This year, I have a new approach. My goal is to end the year having completed more projects than I bought AND to use up more balls of yarn in those completed projects than I buy. Partially completed projects won't count toward my yarn use goal, since that yarn hasn't yet moved completely out of storage. Balls of yarn used are counted in half ball increments.

I've made the decision not to go out of my way to control the book/pattern portion of my stash, at least not this year. I did weed out a number of books and magazines last fall, and will probably do the same again at some point in 2010.

One month into 2010: where am I?

Bought: 8 projects, 22 balls of yarn

Completed: 8 projects, 21.5 balls of yarn

Close, but not quite where I want to be. The January shipment from Blue Moon's Rockin' Sock Club put me over.

One of the completed projects took a January purchase (one ball, meant for a lace scarf) and combined it with 2 balls from stash (meant for a hat) and repurposed the yarn for a cowl for Kerry. I counted it as one project and 3 balls, but seriously considered cheating and taking credit for another project completed or subtracting a project from the "bought" column. This is the same logic I can use with food diets...

I should finish a 3 ball scarf for my friend Sloan today which will put me back in the plus column for both measures (hooray!).

I have a lot more knitting to complete in the next few weeks if I want to attend the Stitches Market with a reasonably clear conscience. Wish me luck!

PS: I will post photos again soon.